Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 143: Great Joy
The depressed Huo Xian was bargaining with the emperor and the prince while riding his horse. He still hoped that everyone could relax their requirements on him and not rush into getting married.

Liu Che and Liu Ju’s meaning was very simple. Some things could be left unplanned in the next two years, but they couldn’t really wait until they were twenty-five or twenty-six.

Unless Huo Xian creates a little champion marquis, we can discuss it then.

They arrived at Guanjun Village at a leisurely pace, and Liu Che started to laugh. "This place was given to your grandfather by me. He asked for a piece of land to settle his troops."

"Now they are all here. The old soldiers and the disabled are all taken care of here, and their families are also here." Huo Xian laughed and complained, "They are all good land, but these people are good at killing people, and they are not good at growing crops."

Liu Che said proudly, "All of Qubing's troops have made great military achievements. It's okay that they don't know how to farm. I'm afraid these people don't have to pay taxes."

This is also the truth. It's not that Huo Xian concealed the population, etc., but these troops have military merits. They have fought battles and made military achievements all their lives, which is always beneficial.

"Your Majesty, it's Your Majesty!" Zhao Hexi shouted excitedly, "It's Your Majesty who has arrived!"

A group of old men in their early forties, or even fifties or sixties, rushed over. These were Huo Qubing's followers, and they were old men.

Liu Che was also happy. He looked at the group of people and said, "Great, it's good to see you! We are all this age, we are old!"

In the eyes of these soldiers, their general was irreplaceable, but they also had great respect for the emperor.

Wei Qing's face was full of smiles. He had arrived earlier and already knew what was going on. He was very happy at the moment, and felt indescribably proud and pleased.

Liu Che was brought to the silo and was stunned when he saw the trough. "I see the willow leaves haven't grown yet, how come there is so much green grass?"

"I had it stored last year!" Huo Xian was very proud and boasted, "Your Majesty, I have now invented a method to store grass for the winter. Can I exchange it for the grace of not getting married for five years?"

Liu Che did not answer. He was knowledgeable about military affairs and did not care whether the grass was dirty or not. He just grabbed a handful of silage, observed it carefully, and sniffed it seriously.

"Your Majesty, I have seen it, it cannot be fake!" Wei Qing said with a smile, "These things are much better than hay!"

Liu Che squeezed his fingers tightly, and saw some moisture between his fingers. "So, my Han Dynasty's war horses can also eat this grass in winter, so they won't lose weight?"

Wei Qing smiled and said, "Even if it's not as good as fresh grass, it's probably much better than hay!"

"Good! Great!" Liu Che was even more excited. "We can't fight the Huns in winter. Besides the freezing cold, there is also a shortage of fodder and insufficient horsepower."

Liu Che was really happy, and his eyes were on the war. "The Xiongnu herd horses in spring and summer, and they have enough horsepower in autumn. Now that our Han Dynasty can send troops in spring, the Xiongnu's horsepower is actually not as good as ours!"

Wei Qing smiled and nodded. The overall level of the Xiongnu's war horses was better than that of the Han people, which was also a concern for everyone. Now that one side was gaining, the other side was losing, and the Xiongnu's advantage was about to become a disadvantage.

There are many difficulties in fighting the Huns. For example, the Huns do not gather together and like to be nomadic. It is not an easy task to find them in the vast grassland.

In autumn, the Xiongnu's war horses are fat and strong, which is not the best time to start a war. But the Han army had no choice, because in winter, the Han army's war horses also lose weight.

"Your Majesty, this method is not difficult!" Huo Xian added fuel to Liu Che's good mood, "These forage grasses are just ordinary forage grasses. As long as the method is appropriate and we are diligent, we can easily raise tens of thousands of war horses!"

Liu Che and Wei Qing were delighted, as they had originally been worried that some of these forage grasses were "special supplies".

Just like the royal family and nobles today, they can also get some out-of-season vegetables regardless of cost, but those things are unimaginable and not universal for the general public.

And now Huo Xian proposed that tens of thousands of war horses could eat such forage in the winter. All this meant that it was no longer a luxury to let the Han war horses survive the winter in better condition.

The Huns did not receive such treatment, and for them, perhaps the nightmare was about to come true.

Just think about it, the harsh winter is over, the grass has just grown a little, and the skinny war horses are still struggling to find fresh grass.

But suddenly, thousands of horses galloped and tens of thousands of Han soldiers rode on fat and strong war horses and rushed towards them. How would the Huns respond then?
Putting aside the fact that the horses cannot run fast, if the Han army chases them all the way, will the Huns still be able to graze?
If that time really comes, there is no need to wait for natural disasters or autumn or winter. Countless Huns will starve to death even in the season of abundant water and grass!

This is no longer a luxury, but a good show that will most likely be staged in the next two to three years!

Huo Xian stepped forward with a shy face, "Your Majesty, we agreed not to get married before the age of thirty. This is settled, right?"

Liu Che rubbed the fodder in his hand without even looking at Huo Xian, "I am happy today, don't let me deal with you when I am happy, understand?" He hasn't even crossed the river yet, and he's already starting to tear down the bridge? What he had basically agreed to before, he really turned around and directly denied it?
Liu Ju asked with a smile on his face, "Xian'er, how much fodder do you have left? Bring it all out so we can have a good look!"

"More than thirty cellars!" Huo Xian said in great frustration, "Hundreds of horses are enough to feed for a while, but I can't take them all out. I have a lot of horses in my house, so I have to keep some."

Liu Che waved his hand and said directly, "Open them all for me. I want to see how to store this fresh grass. Such a big thing must be done well!"

Others shared the same opinion, and Huo Xian no longer worried about his marriage. Now it was more important to get the silage business done.

It is no exaggeration to say that this is a strategic material. If it is properly managed, it can really give the Huns a hard time in the future. It will be enough for the Han Dynasty to add another winning factor to the war chips. This is a big deal!
"I went to Shoujiang City last year and found that there was a lot of grass there, but I couldn't save it." Huo Xian said seriously, "Then I thought of a way to see if I could save some grass."

Liu Che quickly asked, "Zhao Po Nu, did you arrange it this way as well?"

Huo Xian nodded repeatedly, but also said, "Let reliable people do it. I just sent a letter to Marquis Xuye yesterday, and he probably hasn't opened the cellar yet!"

Liu Che looked at Liu Chuan and said, "You should immediately arrange for someone to go to Shoujiang City. This method must be kept secret and the Xiongnu must not know about it."

Liu Ju naturally understood this truth. Some technologies need to be kept secret. Otherwise, it is very likely that a method that is beneficial to the Han Dynasty will become an aid to the Huns, which would obviously be bad.

In the first cellar that was opened, fodder was constantly dug out, which gave Liu Che and others more confidence and expectations. It seemed that a lot of fodder could still be stored.

Liu Che even jumped into the cellar, looked carefully at the cellar wall, and inquired about the details of the production of the silage.

However, when the second cellar was opened, the situation was not particularly good, and most of the hay had rotted. This made everyone feel depressed and worried that this method could not be promoted.

Huo Xian immediately called Feng Xu over and after careful questioning, he felt relieved. "Your Majesty, I don't think it's a big deal. I was worried that some methods would not work. This method is wrong. It's different from the method used by Hao Jiao."

Liu Che asked seriously, "How many methods did you use?"

"There are several types, big and small, some with small differences, some with big differences." Huo Xian pointed at the broken cellar and said, "This cellar is not waterproof, maybe that's the reason for the problem."

Liu Che nodded slightly, and then asked people to open the third and fourth cellars.

Among more than 30 cellars, 26 were able to preserve forage. This success rate can be said to be very good.

As for the broken cellars, it doesn’t matter. It helps to eliminate some wrong methods, which is naturally very valuable.

The more Liu Che and others watched, the happier they felt, and the more confident they felt. Huo Xian wanted to let tens of thousands of war horses eat the best fodder in the winter and maintain their combat effectiveness. This was by no means overly optimistic.

After asking carefully, Liu Che smiled and said, "You are still petty. If I were to do it, I would naturally dig a bigger cellar!"

"Your Majesty, time was tight at the time, and it was good enough to be able to do this!" Huo Xian said hurriedly, "I will have someone dig a few large cellars later, so that the people in my farm and mansion will have fresh fodder in the winter."

Liu Ju reminded, "We also need to prepare some hay, not just this hay. If we really go out to fight, it will be bad luck."

Huo Xian nodded repeatedly. It was absolutely impossible for him to not collect hay and so on just because he saw the silage experiment was successful. That would be too much and might even lead to important mistakes.

Huo Xian indeed brought too many surprises to Liu Che and others. Even if this kid was fooling around, he was able to accomplish some things that many people had never thought of. This was a manifestation of his blessing.

"We have to plan this matter carefully!" Liu Che smiled happily. "We have to think about this matter carefully and plan it carefully."

It does require careful planning. If this thing is accomplished, it will be of great help to the Han Dynasty.

Huo Xian was very proud, full of energy and arrogance. If anyone said now that he left in anger last year, he would argue with him.

Liu Che looked at Huo Shan and said proudly, "I have made the decision. You can take the prince's horse away!"

Liu Ju was also generous and said, "No need for Shan'er to lead it, I will have someone deliver it to you later! A hero deserves a good horse, and Shan'er deserves a good horse!"

(End of this chapter)